A Disturbed Sleep
by Christophine
Summary: Merry Christmas, Friends! The Santa Claus Movie: Anya, worried over the children's first night at the North Pole, looks in on them. As it turns out, Cornelia cannot sleep either...


Anya moved restlessly in the bed. Nicholas breathed heavily each time she rolled, but his eyelids only fluttered. With another Christmas Eve finally over, and the exciting events of the past few days completed at last, he was far too exhausted to be disturbed.

Anya's energy, however, wouldn't settle as easily for the night. She ticked off a list in her head, trying to find some comfort in counting her responsibilities like sheep. Her husband was looked after, the elves had settled their accounts for the year, and the children…

"The children," Anya whispered, resolutely drawing her half of the covers aside. She carefully climbed over Nicholas to open the box door into the outer room. Nicholas sighed and muttered as she stepped nimbly down from the loft.

"It's alright, dear," she told him softly, tucking him in again. "I only want to check on the children one more time." She watched him roll on his side before closing the door. It was her duty, she reminded herself as took up a lamp and headed out into the open hall. As Mrs. Claus and matron of the shop, she was solely responsible for the welfare of their guests.

Anya stepped out into the hallway, pausing only to test the air with her hand. Warm, of course: those fireplaces scattered everywhere did their work completely. But was it warm enough? She fretted, as she always did. Nicholas might bear the weight of the entire world on his shoulders every Christmas Eve, but the workshop full of people caused her just as much concern.

Anya wandered down the hallway, the shadow cast from her lamp playing with the shadows from the fire places. Down below she could hear the deep snores of the elves as they slept. Often she peered over the railings to check that all were well and right in bed. On instinct, she did just that, venturing the light a little further just to be sure before she headed on her way.

For the time being, the children had been settled in a room just across from the workshop- a little space they had used for wrapping gifts. The quarters she and Nicholas shared were cozy for two, but provided absolutely no room for the little runaways Nicholas had brought back. They'd all come together to clear the wrapping room and make it as cozy a place as possible for the newcomers. The elves built brand new beds, and Anya had pulled out pillows and quilts of every cheery color to layer on newly freshly stuffed goose down mattresses. They'd pulled out toys and inventions of all curiosities to fill the room and amuse the children. It had been jolly work, and even Nicholas, weary though he was after his adventure, had whistled and laughed as he organized the event.

Even if it only was the time being…

Still, Anya wished they had selected a room closer that was closer to hers and Nicholas' room. The wrapping room had seemed so reasonable until she tucked the children in and shut their door. Now she couldn't sleep for the worrying over how they were getting on. Suppose they needed something, but were too frightened of the dark shadows in the workshop to come ask her?

The first sight to greet her as she peered inside was the cheery fireplace. The fire Nicholas had stroked up earlier that evening-teaching Joe at the same time how it was fed- cracked and glowed. And there, as Anya poked her head further inside, was Joe sleeping in his bed. The blankets pulled so high over his head that the lamp caught only the gloss of his dark hair. His cap lay over the left front post of the bed, exactly where Anya had placed it when she lifted it from his head while tucking him in.

"Imagine, going to bed with your cap on!" She had laughed to Nicholas later. Only after listening to Nicholas' descriptions of the streets and alleys where Joe often made his home did she sober enough to understand the boy.

"Dear boy, dreaming so well," she murmured.

"He had a bad dream earlier," a soft voice replied.

Anya started and pushed the door open further.

Cornelia, wrapped in an old robe Anya had given her, was sitting on the bench by the window, her cheek resting against the glass and her hands clasped comfortably around the knee pushed up against the sill.

"My dear, I didn't realize you were sitting there." Anya crossed the floor to stand beside her.

"It's okay. My nanny says I'm as a quiet as a mouse. It bothers her."

"I suppose it might bother some people," Anya said, quietly. "I often move quietly myself," she admitted, studying the little girl's face. Lightened by the lamp's glow, Cornelia's face shone with an odd calmness Anya had never seen in a child her age. "What was his dream about?"

"I don't really know," the girl admitted. "He didn't actually wake up. He just talked a little in his sleep and rolled about. I rubbed his back until he calmed down," she added, matter-of-factly.

"That was good of you." Anya brushed Cornelia's hair behind one ear. "You are quite the little woman."

Cornelia beamed, but even Anya noticed the shadow that crossed the sweet face.

"Not having bad dreams yourself, I hope?" she asked, pulling up one of the elves' old stools to sit on.

"Oh, no ma'am," Cornelia assured her. "I…I just couldn't sleep. It's so nice…so lovely here," she added, looking back out the window.

"Yes, I know," Anya agreed. "I couldn't sleep my first night here either. It felt so strange and wonderful at the same time."

Cornelia's eyes sparkled. "Like Heaven!"

Anya chuckled quietly. "Well, not quite like Heaven. I imagine Heaven is a lovelier place than any on earth." She bent closer to the child, adding in a softer whisper, "But this place comes close in second."

Cornelia grinned at her, accepting the hug Anya offered her. For a while they gazed at the blue setting through the window, and Anya enjoyed sitting in quiet with the little girl. She wasn't sure what time it was; the cuckoo clock just outside missed her with its chime. However, the haze of moonlight against the still, white snow informed her that it was well past midnight. Time for both her and Cornelia to be in bed.

Yet she waited quietly. Perhaps it was the mother's intuition that had roused her from her bed with misgivings. Perhaps it was the quiet knack she had received from watching and caring for all those in her home. Either way, she knew that the child had something deep on her mind, and it must be spoken before sleep would come for either.

Just when Anya thought she would doze off, she felt fingers touch her sleeve.

"Will I have to leave?" The question was so soft the child seemed almost breathless. She hurried on before Anya could answer: "Oh, I just have to know now, Mrs. Claus. I couldn't sleep at all wondering if I was staying here. I know Joe will stay here. He doesn't have any family to go back to, and it would be mean to let him live in the streets again. But…my nanny and my step-uncle…"

"Oh, my!" Anya swept the child into her arms and onto her lap before the words were finished. The hint of tears in those kind eyes had been enough for her, motherly intuition or not.

Cornelia returned the hug almost as fiercely, but wouldn't allow herself to be quieted.

"I should probably go back, shouldn't I?" she whispered in Anya's ear. "It would be hateful to let them think I ran away, after all they've done for me."

"I doubt anyone with a heart like yours could ever be hateful," Anya whispered back, feeling the soft cheek warm against her neck. "I've often felt the same way myself, though."

"Have you?"

"Often." The old pain that had plagued Anya again and again struck her sharply. "The first time I came here, I wondered if my dear friends thought I'd abandoned them. The neighbors I'd grown so fond of, the family that had cared for me…I wondered if they missed me. When I realized that I couldn't go back to them…" Anya swallowed back tears of her own. "I wondered if I was hateful for wanting to stay here."

"But you couldn't be!" Cornelia threw her arms around the older woman's neck and hugged her tightly.

"Sometimes we can feel that way when we're torn between wanting something and having to do something."

"And I…" Cornelia swallowed. "I have to go back."

"That's not what I meant," Anya said, as a pit settled inside her. "But we all have to have time to sort things out. If your uncle misses you…"

"He doesn't," Cornelia said firmly; despondently, Anya thought. "He only took me in because it looked good for his business. He rarely said anything to me except on the holidays."

"That's a terrible shame," Anya replied. Her heart boiled, though, as she recalled what Nicholas had told her of the affair. Imagine, neglecting a sweet, loving child like that! It made her clutch the girl all the harder, wishing to never let her go.

"But Nanny…" Cornelia fell silent, considering. "I suppose she might miss me some. Uncle paid her to look after me, but she tried her best to be kind."

"Would you want to go back to her?" Anya questioned, half afraid of the answer as Cornelia drew away. "Do you think _you_ might need her?"

"I…" Cornelia folded her hands and looked down at them. "I…don't really need a nanny, per se…"

"What do you think you might need, Cornelia?" _What do you think you might need, Anya?_ She heard her own thoughts asking her.

"A Mom, of course!" Both started as Joe suddenly whipped his covers back and scrambled to the floor to stand in front of them. "You two are so stupid! Corny doesn't need a dumb ol' nanny! She needs a Mom and Dad, just like I do!"

"Joe, shhh." Anya cautioned. His shouts would wake the rest of the workshop. Cornelia's head was still down, but when Anya glanced at her she realized that the little girl was struggling to hide her giggles.

Anya didn't intimidate Joe in the least. He planted his hands on his hips as he stood in front of them, looking streetwise even in Nicholas' long shirt. "So, what's it gonna be, huh? Ain't you going to let her stay here, or not!"

Anya smiled at the boy's spirit- the same spirit that had awed Nicholas. She held out a hand to him, pleased when some of that street attitude melted into shyness as she drew him to her side.

"Nicholas and I want you both to stay," she said, as he placed his head on her shoulder; a wildcat tamed into a lamb. "We'll just have to be sure we can keep you both. I mean, we want what's best for both of you. It's a lonely place here for children," she added, with a regretful sigh. "You'll have me and Nicholas, of course, but won't you want any others?"

"I'll have Corny!" Joe insisted, almost indignant.

"And I'll have Joe," Cornelia whispered, contentedly placing her head on Anya's chest.

"Then, we'll find a way," Anya assured them, hugging both children tightly. "We'll find a way," she added, reassuring herself.

It was not hard to get them back into bed soon after, though Anya dealt with a terrible ache at letting them go. A pang shot through her, too, as she wondered again whether it was wrong to keep them. Perhaps Cornelia in her sensitive way misunderstood her uncle's inattention; perhaps it would be better for Joe to be with a younger couple.

Had she really done any good, she asked herself as she stepped out of the room to close the door.

As if in answer, a strong hand clasped hers on the doorknob, and she looked into the cheery face of her husband.

"What a woman you are," he murmured, smiling brightly as he echoed her words.

Anya didn't need to ask what he had heard. "Nicholas, we should have discussed this earlier, but it's been so busy…"

"I want them, too, Anya." Nicholas wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked the hallway again to their rooms. "I want them more than anything I've ever wanted…except you."

"Good," Anya laid her head on his should, comforted by his agreement.

"You know, I was thinking. I never get to see the world anymore, except on Christmas Eve. Why don't we take a vacation?"

"A vacation, Nicholas?" What on earth did this have to do with the children?

"A short one. I hear New York City is nice this time of year." Nicholas' voice stayed even as he spoke, though Anya could discern the teasing. "We could visit a few places-the Statue of Liberty, maybe-and I could show you where Cornelia lives. Perhaps we could have a chat with that nanny of hers…"

"Or her uncle?" Anya suggested, beginning to catch on.

"Just suggest that a little girl like Corny needs more attention at her age. A little extra care from a couple who've always wanted a little girl."

"Nicholas, do you really think they'd agree?"

Nicholas' eyes twinkled. "And a little visit to the courthouse after that, just to find out how long an adoption takes. Of course, they'd have to do a search for Joe's family…but we've been patient for this long, Anya."

"And we can be patient for a little while longer," Anya agreed earnest.

"That's for tomorrow," Nicholas said, as he yawned. "Tonight, we really need some sleep."

"I don't see how," Anya replied, sighing. "After tonight, I doubt we'll ever sleep again…"


End file.
